Holiday Hotel Muscat

... Lots of shops with leather and jewelery and fabrics. It was quite lovely and we didn't get hassled by too many different vendors. Once you said that you weren't interested they basically left you alone. The city was absolutely clean and there are fines if you drop any rubbish. Such a contrast to Cairo. The locals were very friendly and a lot of them spoke English, which always helps. The port is surrounded by rugged hills with no ...

... container has now been delayed until 1st March. Once we get our things that will be a bit better and more organised. But we don't know how long we will be here before we get moved to the complex. I can't just sit twiddling my thumbs not doing anything with the house for months. So we're just getting on with it and deal with it when it happens. So we went to a couple of furniture shops last night. It's amazing what you chose ...

... the shoulders up of the people on the other side of the table. At the start of the meeting, we were served dark and strong coffee in very small cups. Despite the sureal nature of the room, we had a good meeting that lasted about an hour. We got briefed about their protected areas, the two preserves we are to visit, and what they hoped we'd be providing them with at the end of our visit. Last night, we went to the Musat Festival - a very ...

... avec un amour incessant, je n'ai jamais été aussi sùr que le plaisir suprême consiste en une certaine vie tranquille en France (Le Monde et internet pour savoir où va l'humanité, depuis le fond de mon lit lillo-parisien) qu'il est tellement beau de rompre par la découverte sur le terrain. Ayant d'abord longtemps imaginé que je pousserais loin mon "trip arabe", j'avais cependant bien realisé au moment du départ que ce voyage ne ...

... the Arabian peninsula en route to Cairo other than "why not?" It's a strange sort of place, a hot, quiet city (it is a push calling it such but a city, we're told, is what it is) a million miles removed from the noise, dirt and general madness of India, still fresh in our memories. We arrived here yesterday afternoon and quickly settled into our Corniche Hotel room overlooking Muscat harbour. We then headed out to have a look around ...

... and the Souks (outdoor markets) where we negotiated some deals for local gear. I picked up a 1864 Silver Dollar for $1.40 that Google claims is worth $900. What are the odds that's fake? Yeah, I know. 99%. Anyway, great weekend. Check out the picks. Just amazing how the mountains rise up out of the Gulf of Oman. The whole Arabian Peninsula was under water at one point, and until you get to about 800 feet above sea level in ...

... on a slightly longer route through the border at Al Ain, further to the south, for a bit of variety. We were sad to leave Oman behind, but know we will return as often as possible - the lasting impression we have is that it actually feels like being in the Middle East, wich is rather nice. The people were very friendly and the pace of life quiet and relaxed. The drive was spectacular, mountains of all varieties of coloured rock, large and looming. Almost no ...

... outward-not upward growth. Dhow Twighlight Cruise 2 & 1/2 hours $92.00 Cruising the harbor and coastline north of Muscat in Dwoh boats, built in the town of Sur. Dhow builders employ traditional Omani techniques that have been passed on for centuries from generation to generation; modern features and safety aspects being added in Muscat. We departed from the guarded pier for transfer to Marina Bander Al Rowdha. There apparently ...

... flying out of the water and doing tricks and stuff. The tour was great on the way back the captain took us along the coast for a bit so we could see the Palace from the water and the Portuguese Forts. We also saw an old Portuguese cemetery. Back at the marina they had an awesome pool that was super cold so we stayed there for the rest of the day. Tanning and swimming, swimming and tanning. The pool even had a swim up bar and grill but of course it was closed due to ...

... in the heat as they were the temperature of a warm bath. However the stretches we saw were beautiful and made us feel far removed from the old town we were used to and the Oman we had pictured in our minds. Walking along Qurum beach we passed many numerous beach soccer games and stumbled across the more affluent part of town where there were all manner of shops such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee, next to the ritzy hotels. In need of some supplies we got a taxi to a shop ...